environment

Love your Mother — Mother Earth, that is — during the month of April with KLRU’s Earth Day programming. KLRU and KLRU-Q will be celebrating Earth Day, April 22, with specials that shine a light on the remarkable Pale Blue Dot we call home. Learn about our planet’s vast biodiversity, the problems our environment faces, and innovative solutions for a healthier Earth with programs for the whole family.

Located 110 miles off the Louisiana-Texas coast, the corals of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary rank among the healthiest in the world, even though they lie in the middle of one of the most active oil and gas production areas on earth. Narrated by Penny Hammer, a Gulf Coast resident, Window In The Waves tells the intriguing story of the reefs’ formation, their essential function as a haven for marine animals, their designation as a national sanctuary in 1992 and their critical importance to the global environment. Formed millions of years ago and protected by remoteness, the three reefs collectively cover 56 square nautical miles in the Gulf of Mexico- and teem with biodiversity. Stunning underwater footage gathered over the course of hundreds of dives reveals the diverse inhabitants, including hundreds of species of fish and invertebrates.

And for the kids:Dinosaur Train and Wild Kratts join forces for an Explore the Outdoors Week, April 20-24.The Brothers Kratt and the Pteranodon family celebrate Earth Day with an eco-themed week including the premieres of new episodes.

Tiny can’t believe it when he finds out that his friend Cindy Cimolestes doesn’t like fish, but she explains that she’s a mammal and many mammals don’t eat fish. Determined, Tiny sets out to find a mammal in the Mesozoic who likes fish. She, Buddy, Cindy and Dad set out on a fishing trip, where they run into Cassie Castrocauda, a Jurassic mammal that looks like a cross between a beaver, an otter and a platypus, who also happens to love fish!

Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don are excited that Keira Chirostenotes gets to babysit them for the night while Mr. and Mrs. Pteranodon go out for a dinner on the Dinosaur Night Train. Keira shows the kids how a dead log’s decomposition provides food and shelter for many living creatures. Then, Grandma and Grandpa are excited to have a whole day with their grandkids and doubly-excited to do a special project with them. Buddy, Tiny, Shiny and Don get to plant their own sycamore saplings and vow to visit their trees frequently to track their growth over the years.

Aviva is working on a special ring chip that will super power her “inventuring”, but it’s stolen by a mysterious lemur. Martin and Chris are off to the rescue and along the way, they learn about the amazing world of chameleons.

Wild Kratts Lemur Stink Fight — April 21 at 4 pm
While in Madagascar, the Wild Kratts hear signs of a dispute between two troops of ringtailed lemurs. So they set out to figure out just what these two lemur groups are arguing about…

Wild Kratts Capture The Fishmobile — April 22 at 4 pm
When Aviva unveils her new Fishmobile invention, designed to keep up with the rapid, precise movements of schooling fish, Chris and Martin challenge the gang to a brand new creature game.

Zero Energy America Part 1: April 7 at 9 pm Part 2: April 14 at 9 pm
Zero Energy America is two one-hour documentaries that explore the quest for the zero-energy home. This look inside alternative technology and solutions for the energy crisis in America and abroad finds solutions around the world that show promise and hope for a new tomorrow in which a home of any size can be built that not only lowers overall energy consumption, but actually finds ways to create excess power. Zero Energy America shows the way to get there, demonstrate the solutions by visiting real world working examples and addresses the problems head on. The zero energy home is attainable today… and this documentary proves that a Zero Energy America can be our tomorrow.

We’ve Got The Power — April 21 at 9 pm
The follow-up documentary to the Emmy® Award-winning program The Next Frontier: Engineering the Golden Age of Green, We’ve Got the Power shows viewers how the United States can replace fossil fuels with clean energy in a way that is economically beneficial to consumers and businesses alike, and ensures a safer environment for future generations. By driving electric vehicles, installing solar on our roofs, or doing something as simple as getting a home energy audit, we all have the power to improve energy efficiency, save money, and phase out fossil fuels. We’ve Got the Power also looks at the importance of the role of government in different stages of clean energy production including research, regulations, policy making, and protecting the public and the environment from disasters like the BP Gulf Oil Spill.

Champion Trees — April 22 at 8 pm
Escaping the ravages of nature and man, the champion trees are the largest of their species in any state. With lives spanning hundreds of years, these silent sentinels have watched history unfold around them. Champion Trees is a one-hour AETN original documentary that explores these natural wonders and how they influence and inspire the people around them.

Ocean Frontiers: Dawn Of A New Era in Ocean Stewardship — April 22 at 9 pm
How can the United States meet its ever-expanding demands on the ocean without destroying it? To answer this question, Ocean Frontiers introduces the unlikely allies joining forces to improve conditions in the waters off America’s coasts. This documentary travels to four seaports and watersheds to observe new, long-term approaches to ocean management — from the busy shipping lanes of Boston Harbor to a small fishing community in the Pacific Northwest; from coral reefs in the Florida Keys to the nation’s premier seafood nursery in the Mississippi Delta. Along the way, Ocean Frontiers captures inspiring stories of scientists, businesses, farmers, sport and commercial fishermen, governments and citizens coming together to save the seas that sustain them.

So Right So Smart — April 22 at 10 pm
This program profiles companies on the cutting edge of more sustainable business practices who are proving that being environmentally friendly is both good for the earth and good for business. Their inspiring stories of leadership and innovative change provide hopeful models for the larger business community and other institutions. The primary focus of the film is a behind-the-scenes look at the transformation of Interface Inc., a global carpet manufacturer led by Ray Anderson, one of the early pioneers of green business practices. Anderson has spearheaded an often-challenging effort to transform Interface to a “restorative enterprise”; and has become an inspiration to other businesses. So Right So Smart also includes short profiles of companies who started with a commitment to green business practices, including Stonyfield Farms, Patagonia, Herman Miller, Seventh Generation and New Belgium Brewery.

NATURE “Outback Pelicans”
Wednesday, August 14 at 7 pmrepeats: Thursday, August 15 at 3 am; Friday, August 16 at 3 am; Sunday, August 18 at 2 am.
The Australian outback is the driest place on the driest inhabited continent on the planet. It is a place you might expect to see kangaroos but certainly not waterbirds. Yet once every 10 years, rains flood into dried-up river beds and head inland to create the largest lake in Australia, and 100,000 pelicans — a third of all the pelicans in Australia — arrive for the event. Leaving their homes on coasts and harbors, they come to feed on fish washed in on the floods and on billions of brine shrimp and other crustaceans which hatch and grow to adulthood in a few days in water twice as salty as the Dead Sea. The pelicans have come home to court and raise as many families as possible before the water and the food disappear once more.

NOVA “Making Stuff Cleaner”
Wednesday, August 28 at 8 pmrepeats: Thursday, August 29 at 1 & 4 am; Friday, August 30 at 3 am; Sunday, September 1 at 3 am & 4 pm.Host David Pogue is on a quest to clean up, using new green materials to build and power the devices of the future. Batteries grown from viruses, plastics made of sugar and solar cells that cook up hydrogen are just the beginning of a new generation of clean materials.